Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

We all want people to do stuff. Whether you want your customers to buy from you, vendors to give you a good deal, your employees to take more initiative, or your spouse to make dinner—a large amount of everyday is about getting the people around you to do stuff. Instead of using your usual tactics that sometimes work and sometimes don't, what if you could harness the power of psychology and brain science to motivate people to do the stuff you want them to do - even getting people to want to do the stuff you want them to do.

In this book you’ll learn the 7 drives that motivate people: The Desire For Mastery, The Need To Belong, The Power of Stories, Carrots and Sticks, Instincts, Habits, and Tricks Of The Mind. For each of the 7 drives behavioral psychologist Dr. Susan Weinschenk describes the research behind each drive, and then offers specific strategies to use. Here’s just a few things you will learn:

The more choices people have the more regret they feel about the choice they pick. If you want people to feel less regret then offer them fewer choices.

If you are going to use a reward, give the reward continuously at first, and then switch to giving a reward only sometimes.

If you want people to act independently, then make a reference to money, BUT if you want people to work with others or help others, then make sure you DON’T refer to money.

If you want people to remember something, make sure it is at the beginning or end of your book, presentation, or meeting. Things in the middle are more easily forgotten.

If you are using feedback to increase the desire for mastery keep the feedback objective, and don’t include praise.

Synopsis

Whether you want your customers to buy from you, or vendors to give you a good deal, your boss to give you a raise, or your employees to take initiative, most of your work life and even your personal life involves trying to get people to do stuff. Instead of using your usual tactics that sometimes work and sometimes don't, you can learn how to use insights from recent research in psychology and brain science to be more effective in motivating people and in getting people to do the stuff you want them to do - even getting people to want to do the stuff you want them to do.

Synopsis

We all want people to do stuff. Whether you want your customers to buy from you, vendors to give you a good deal, your employees to take more initiative, or your spouse to make dinner—a large amount of everyday is about getting the people around you to do stuff. Instead of using your usual tactics that sometimes work and sometimes don't, what if you could harness the power of psychology and brain science to motivate people to do the stuff you want them to do - even getting people to want to do the stuff you want them to do.

In this book you’ll learn the 7 drives that motivate people: The Desire For Mastery, The Need To Belong, The Power of Stories, Carrots and Sticks, Instincts, Habits, and Tricks Of The Mind. For each of the 7 drives behavioral psychologist Dr. Susan Weinschenk describes the research behind each drive, and then offers specific strategies to use. Here’s just a few things you will learn:

The more choices people have the more regret they feel about the choice they pick. If you want people to feel less regret then offer them fewer choices.

If you are going to use a reward, give the reward continuously at first, and then switch to giving a reward only sometimes.

If you want people to act independently, then make a reference to money, BUT if you want people to work with others or help others, then make sure you DON’T refer to money.

If you want people to remember something, make sure it is at the beginning or end of your book, presentation, or meeting. Things in the middle are more easily forgotten.

If you are using feedback to increase the desire for mastery keep the feedback objective, and don’t include praise.

Table of Contents

1) The power of stories2) How to use examples3) Getting people into the flow state4) How to work with someone's habits, not against them5) Why seeing progress toward a goal is motivating6) When rewards work and when they don't7) How to get people to STOP doing something8) How chemicals in the brain that get people to do stuff9) Using surprise and unpredictability to motivate10) How the desire for mastery is motivating11) How the drive to be autonomous is motivating12) People want to look smart to others13) How to get around people's natural laziness14) Harnessing the dislike of boredom15) When competition is not motivating16) Using the desire to connect and be social to motivate17) People's built in tendency to imitate18) Using emotions to motivate19) When making something hard makes it more desirable20) When anticipation is more important than reward21) How most goals and desires are unconscious22) The more difficult something is to achieve the more people like it23) The power of anticipating24) Unconscious decision-making25) Why the brain wants to control the situation26) How having an experience can be more motivating than having a possession27) When people are swayed by a dominant personality28) When and why people look at what other people are doing to decide whatthey should do29) How the "persona" that a person has of themselves influences theirbehavior30) How to get people to change long held beliefs and actions